Juniper: Graves Crime Syndicate, Book 3

Graves Crime Syndicate #3

by April Skye

Huxley — As I sat in the hospital with Allison and her newborn daughter, the weight of my 1911 hung from my holster at my side. I never imagined the gun gifted to me by my Grandpa Weston would be stolen off me, or used to shoot the parents of the child sleeping in my arms. Her mother had survived, but her father hadn’t. For weeks, I believed I was the sole reason for Devon’s death. Turns out my presence on the street that night was an unexpected variable. But now, we had the evidence we needed to go after those threatening Allison and her child. And my brothers and I would go to any lengths to make sure our girls were safe.

—Juniper is a 100k full-length mafia/gang new adult romance with a ‘why choose?’ theme meaning our leading lady ends up with all of her guys in the end. This book is the conclusion to the series with a HEA, but only the beginnings of the Lexingfield Universe.—

This is a dark romance for an adult audience that includes extreme grief, scenes of torture and bodily harm, drug-induced hallucinations, attempted assault, sex trafficking, and other themes that understandably may be triggering. Additionally, in part with our leading lady’s healing journey, there are romantic and/or spicy scenes between her and the four guys she refuses to pick between. Please read at your own discretion. For a complete list of triggers, please visit my website authoraprilskye.com

Genres: Why Choose, Dark Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Dark

514 pages, Paperback

Published November 14, 2022

About the author

April Skye lives in Kansas City, Missouri with her husband and best friend. Together, they have three dogs: Adele, Skylynn, and Honey. April likes to spend her time reading smut, aimlessly scrolling TikTok, and bingeing Netflix if she isn’t spending time with her family. Her favorite reads are the books that leave you emotionally spent and stay with you long after “The End”. April’s best ideas come during dissociative states and she figured, if she’s spending all day imagining characters and the crazy situations they get into, she might as well write it and share her stories.

Reviews

[✨Rachael, Island Bookworm ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wrote a very long and detailed review that apparently didn't save 😭 my biggest problem was there was just too much focus on the dead husband🤷🏽‍♀️

[abbey willcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just shove your hand in my chest and pull my beating heart out why don’t you?! 😭😭 WHYY!!!! April you are savage in this book, I just didn’t see it coming and it’s killed me!! I cant even say why because hellooo spoiler!! If you know, you know 💔😭

Weston!!! 🥹 I legit cried at one part because he is just the best man EVER!! 😩😭❤️ he literally makes my heart so full. The way he cares for both Allison & Juniper… you get all the feels with him. But you also get all the feels throughout this whole book, the guys & Juniper are EVERYTHING 🥹 remember in my other reviews I mentioned their nicknames for each other? And how much I adored it? WELL, guess which little cutie has her own nicknames from the guys too 😭 my heart is so full it’s burst.

“I’m harrier than a fucking Shetland pony and haven’t shaved since Atlanta.” 🤣🤣

But don’t let me deceive you. It’s still full of grief and pure heart ache but we get to see Allison slowly healing with herself & her new understanding with new feelings for the guys. If you’re looking for loads of smut this just isn’t the series for you, it just can’t be like that. But seriously, the little bits of 🔥we get is enough! We are cheering our girl on and the guys for being so good and patient with Allison. We too are still healing alongside Allison.

“You entice the demons that live deep within me and that’s fucking exciting.”

My god, that epilogue!! Had tears in my eyes 🥹😭 my heart is broken but full. I didn’t want this book to end. It was definitely my favourite but at the same time my worst… 💔😅❤️

Really loved this series. Can’t wait for more from this world!! 👌🏽

“The doctor will see you soon.”

[Giulia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 🌟

✓ Multiple pov's
✓ Mafia/Gang
✓ Slow burn
✓ Entertaining plot - 3 / 5
✓ Mature language
✓ Fast paced
✓ Spice 🌶 / 5
✓ Revenge plot
✓ Found family
✓ Extreme grief
✓ Reverse harem
✓ Kidnapping 🤔
✓ Dark romance
✓ Banter
✓ HEA 🤔



It was an amazing conclusion to the story.
This book was more action-packed than the previous ones.
I didn't expect a reverse harem to be so light on romance.
I enjoyed the plot and characters, but sometimes the connection felt lost.
It's not bad, and I tried to understand what she'd been through and the intense emotions she experienced, but sometimes it dragged on too long.
She was in a relationship with four men, yet she spoke more with her deceased husband in her dreams.
Throughout the book, she says it's Devon's baby, but suddenly, she changes her opinion without explanation.
I enjoyed this series, but I would have loved it more if there had been a little more romance and connection with the living men.

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Begrudgingly, I have to admit that this book was better than the first two.
It was still very detail heavy, and annoyed the fuck out of me but, there was much closure we needed from the other two books.

This series would have been better as a standalone or a duet.

It was a tad too long, and like I said, detail heavy. I found my attention constantly dropping or skimming paragraphs just to get through the chapter.

Her dreams aka flashbacks drove me mental.

I do wish we had an update on Polly and maybe more about Brittney's house... But for the most part, this book was worth reading.

[Bridget Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking ❤️‍🩹

So many of my questions were answered throughout the series, but this book was heartbreaking in the best way!! I cried while reading. I love the relationships that have continued to form between Allison and the guys, but I love that Devon isn't left out either and is still such a big part of their lives!! 🥺🥺
Highly recommend!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful...

We get the thrilling and much needed closure with this last book in the series. Not that this book was dark, but definitely check the triggers before starting. This book dragged you in on a ride of grief and depression and the struggles of a newly widowed and pregnant woman trying to find her meaning of living after losing the love of her life. Insert the 4 strangers who take her in and try to show her life is still worth living. This book brought us the hope and hea we were all hoping for along with the villains getting their comeuppance. I loved this book series so much. Do I wish it had more steam scenes, well yea but that's not really what this book was about. Oh and u r so cruel with that one death(wahhhhh) lol anyway you have definitely gained me as a reader and I look forward to future books.

[Melissa Hickman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Series!!!!

This series was AWESOME!!!! Allison was such a strong FMC and was lucky enough to be supported by five wonderfully strong men!!! The storyline was so good I literally inhaled these books!!! I can’t recommend it enough!!!

[coffeeinlibraries · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶

Graves Crime Syndicate is hands down one of the best series I have ever read. I cried so much during the first two books as I felt like I was losing Devon and living a life without him just as Allison.

This was a fantastic ending to Allison and her guys' story; we get to see her conquer her acceptance of motherhood without the physical guidance of Devon and that the guys are truly here to stay. When I say I swoooned every time the guys had their moments with Juniper, I really friggin' did. I love how much they loved her. We also get our questions and suspicions answered, along with some heartbreak that definitely had me sniffling.

I usually prefer more spice in my books, but this series had the perfect amount for everything that was happening within the pages. It was nice to see her connect with someone fully and I love who she chose to move forward with first! Also, the epilogue had my heart soaring for the life they're living!

I'm sad to see them go, and will definitely be reading their story again throughout the years, but I am excited for what's coming next. 😊

[CM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plot 5/5 🌟
Spice 1/5 🌶️
I found the trilogy captivating. One of the best plots I’ve read in awhile. The FMC goes experiences great loss with the death of her husband. The MMCs help protect her and help her with her grief. She deals with her grief throughout the trilogy and you witness how she learns to cope with it. The only downfall to the story is the lack of spice to the relationships. The mental relationships grow throughout the story and the building is great. It is even difficult to call it a RH because there is lack of physical relations in 3/4 men. There is only 1 “full scene” towards the end of the 3rd book with 1 MMC. That is what brings the book down.

[Sara Kolb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning. Amazing. Tragic.
All great words to describe this book and series. Book 3 picks up right wear book 2 leaves you and take ypu right back to the emotions you felt.
Allison gives birth to her daughter Juniper, and the way all the interactions between the men and Juniper and Allison are just perfect.
The way April writes is something else, I don't think I've ever read and re read a series that has emotional destroyed me and ended up saying thank you for sharing this with me.
The way she has been so consistent with all the trauma and grief is beautiful, they way that Allison wasn't 'fixed" when she met Hux,Vyk,David and Blue eyes is something you don't read to often and I fell in love.
The way she alway reminds us of Devon is wonderful, he is never forgotten by Allison or the guys which is wonderful. The men are always respectful of him and his memory. Never pushing Allison to "move on'
You get all you questions answered by the end of this book and a beautiful epilogue.
April killed it with this series and I can't wait to read whatever comes next(:

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful ending to a brilliant series

This book is wonderful, it doesn't shy away from the emotions that come with loss. Allison's story finally concludes and she finally hears the truth behind Devon's death, while David finds out what happened to his sister. I think this series is very underrated and needs to shouted from the rooftops with how good it is!

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great series

I stumbled upon the first book by accident and what a happy accident that turned out to be. This series is moving, emotional, intense, gripping. All the feels. Serious hat off to the author.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

really really good

I loved all 3 books. The series built perfectly on top of each other, the characters grew and I loved the whole story. It was emotional and hard at times but it was beautiful to see the characters open up to be a real family in the end. Well done April!

[Suzi Vee · Rating 5 out of 5]

promise? promise.

What a beautiful story. This is not like other “smutty books”. If you are looking for a lot of spicy scenes, this isnt the series for you. If you are looking for a beautifully written love story that will absolutely rip your heart out at times? Grab this series. What a great ending to this trilogy.

[Galina Sulaiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Graves Syndicate 3

What a beautiful,heartbreaking story. This was a journey that had me with a box of Kleenex, Devon died too young. Im so glad he visited her dreams and helped her fight to live during her brutal abduction. The guys were the perfectly imperfect men that helped put her shattered soul back together stitch by stitch.

[Mike Forgione · Rating 5 out of 5]

wow

What a great ending to the series! Truly relatable characters and I loved that they didn’t try to diminish the love she had for her late husband. I wish I knew what happened with Jesse? Can’t wait for the spin off and will be waiting for it’s arrival!!

[Books A-Brewin' · Rating 4 out of 5]

The baby is finally here and the pieces are starting to fall into place as to what exactly happened with Allison's husband. It seemed it was time for her men to start exacting some revenge and putting an end to the crooked gang business that had cost Allison her beloved husband and her daughter a father. As they start moving with military planning courtesy of Lachlan and Matthew's training, the twisted events start to unfold. But the more they poke and prod and try to figure out where to strike first, the more of a target Allison becomes until she is captured which costs one of her new family members their life. Allison is starting to move through her grief a bit more easily but everything threatens to fall to pieces as she starts to learn that people she thought she could trust were not to be trusted at all.

I kind of saw the writing on the wall from the very beginning when they figured out that Allison and Devon were the actual targets of that night and not Huxley. But I was curious to see how it all unfolded. There were some twists that made me raise a brow. But most seemed to be what I had thought to expect. Sometimes it is nice to see it all explained exactly as you had thought it would be. Other times it can cause the story to become boring. Luckily the author was skilled enough to add a few curveballs into the mix that would wreck her readers. IE: letting one of the best characters DIE?! I will not soon forgive you for that, April.

What can I say but that this book was another stellar addition to the series and a fine conclusion to the trilogy. The only problem I had with it was that there was a lot of heat between the guys and Allison for three books but it was only in the last 10% of the final book that she was physical with any of them and it was only the one out of the four that got any. The scene was really short and not particularly details. It really felt like it was an afterthought. Kind of like the author got to the end and went "Whoops, never wrote any sex scenes, let me just throw this little one in here so nobody gets mad." I'm still mad! I wanted to see one of my two favorites get some actions too! I will not say who those are because I don't want to spoil it but I may have mentioned it in previous reviews if you really want to hunt for it. I would have liked if there was a little more of Allison letting each of the other men be physical with her as well so it didn't feel like favoritism. That was my only drawback.

Juniper was the tied up loose ends and happily ever after ending we had been waiting for through all the tears and heartache of Widow and Meadow.

[Julianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Review Shared for series**

I wanted to LOVE this series. And I did... kinda?

There is just one major issue. It's wayyyy too long. Like probably twice as long as it needed to be. There were so many unnecessary inner monologues. Whether it was just stories that added nothing to the bigger picture, or sometimes even stories being retold in dialogue when we had already read the story in an inner monologue. Which also made it feel repetitive.

By the time I got to the third book I was skimming most of it because I was just ready for things to be resolved already. Which was unfortunately because I REALLY liked the characters and the journey they were going on.

Overall, I am still giving the series four stars because the books are GOOD. The idea behind the plot and characters is fantastic but the execution just wasn't great a lot of the time.

The twist was a bit expected for me.. but even still I LOVED it. It really added a depth to the story that it needed, life isn't black and white and this story definitely showed that.

Another minor issue was that Devon's baby was always referred to as just that "Devon's baby", even by Allison and I feel like the way she was disconnected from her child (even after she was born) wasn't healthy and was never dealt with properly. I mean the girl saw her husband murdered in front of her (and was shot herself) and never got proper therapy, even after telling the guys multiple times to just kill her already...

[Leah D · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great little series. I found the FMC to be extremely resilient and kind hearted, you were really rooting for her the whole time.

Her relationship with the four men throughout the entire series was special and they all helped her find herself again through her grieving process. I had hoped that more time would be spent with her exploring her connections but for the most part, we only really got to see that in tiny glimpses.

At the end, the book shifts 6 years ahead which would be fine in most cases, but it felt like we were almost deprived of the romantic connections between her, Matthew, Vyk, David and even Huxley. The series overall was good and I really enjoyed it but the ending felt a bit rushed for me.

I was disappointed that so much time was spent building the connections between Allison and the guys where it was emphasized how she was working to eventually get to the point where she could be with them in every way without feeling guilt for them to basically tie up the vengeance plot and then have her connect with one of the men to then flip 6 years ahead. It seems like a missed opportunity for us to not get to see the end result of what she was working towards and took her almost the full three books for her to be able to find her happiness again.

[More Why Choose Please · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* I had hoped it would improve as the series continued, and we would feel more angst and more depth of emotions. But the writing just wasn't quite there for me! I loved the plot and the characters, I just didn't feel a connection.
I would say that whilst the plot is a little dark, the relationships are more fluffy. All the MMC's are very sweet and patient with the FMC and I really enjoyed the romance slowly progressing. Personally felt like the author wrote the progression well, and it wasn't instant. The FMC's grief and healing was respected and it was a very slow, but sweet burn. There is very minimal spice throughout the book, which for a RH was a little disappointing for me but not a deal breaker. I think there is a lot of detail that wasn't needed, and could have used the space to create more intimacy and spice between the characters though.
This book felt like a lot of the POV ended up just being self or emotional reflection rather than the plot or being in the present moment, so I did end up skimming some of these to just get to more interesting parts.
But overall I did really enjoy the read, and will read other works by the author too.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad

The overall story isn’t bad. It’s a little light on the romance for a typical RH, but it’s more of an emotional romance versus psychical. The storyline wasn’t very satisfying for me. I didn’t like that the FMC kept saying “Devon’s Baby”. There was never any explanation for it or why she changed how she addressed the baby in her mind. The constant dreaming about the Devon got really annoying too. He was pretty much the 5th man of the harem. It would have made more sense that she started to lean more on the alive guys and Devon would start to fade away in her dreams or only show during stressful situations. Some of the relationships were more superficial than the others. I felt like the connections were weaker between Lachlan and Huxley. There were some plot lines that weren’t wrapped up. The story felt very HFN versus HEA. It was a lot of small things that added up over the three books and kept it from being a 5 star read for me.

[Jenney Escoto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED JUNIPER! I love how action-packed it was and how all the missing pieces came into place. This book was a rollercoaster of emotions. From cliterflies to disgust, from laughter to cryig, from lightheartedness to grief, and from weakness to strength.

[SPOILER!] April Skye did an incredible job in including a tragic death in the book without it affecting the story surrounding Allison and her guys too much.

I love that even though there were so many questions that were answered in this book, the story did not feel rushed. The timeline was perfectly structured. I absolutely adore this book and the two before it!

[Kaycee McDonnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want more, simple as that.

I'm in love with this series.
It's now on my to buy in paperback list.
I have hit every single emotional peak through the 3 books, laughed and cried along with the characters.
The absolute depth that is carried out through this series is amazing, and I just want more like it.
From the first pages of Widow, to the final pages of Juniper, I was captured.
I wish I could read this series again, not knowing what was coming, to experience it all over again.
I love it.
April, you are a genius.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this whole series and we didn’t get ONE group scene 😭

There was good action/suspense and the story did pick up from time to time but I have to say I was a little under whelmed by the conclusion of Alison’s story and her why choose romance with these men. There was so much focus on her grief and her still not over her dead husband (which is totally fair LOLOL) but like it’s fiction — girlies are moving in faster here than IRL. These men were hot as fuck and there was not enough of them doing it lmao.

[Crystal LoCicero · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good

This was a great way to end the trilogy. I really liked the pace of this. That epilogue was perfection! This series had me in a chokehold for a couple days. I had to finish it. Sure there were some mistakes but I really didn't even notice or focus on that because the characters and story had me so intrigued. It was a unique take on rh. I will read more from this author.

[tensiondiffuser · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf at 36%. personal opinion: i found her inability to remember people’s names as endearing like in the first 10% of the FIRST BOOK. and then it slowly starts to annoy me 😭 she also mentioned how she would remember if she tries or if that person is impactful or something but girl? ethan literally puts himself in jeopardy for your ass and you still call him little shit.

[Bobbie Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Will read again

I read hundreds of books a year. Rarely do I read the same one twice. I just may with this series.
The only issue I had with anything was that the 2 that fell first, got the least screen time. Because they were already caught? Idk. Also, I kept seeing Devon as Dr McDreamy. Weird. Excellent and heartbreaking series.

[LACEY · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read all 3 and absolutely nothing happened till this book. Its boring, stretched out and very very very light on romance and sexy time. Also its freaking weird that she refers to her baby as devons baby every single time. Plus its crazy that she wanted to name all future kids with devons last name, these guys need some balls. Super pass, i should have dnf'd in the first book like i wanted to

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

“You entice the demons that live deep within me and that’s fucking exciting.”

I think that it’s ridiculous she can’t remember names and she should see a neurologist. While the dreams in the meadow with her dead husband were cute … idk enough was enough by book three. Barely any burn in this series.

Tropes:
Dark Romance
Love After Loss
Why Choose
Multi POV
Slow burn

[Marissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

the ending was *chefs kiss*

The middle got a bit hanky and drawn there but tbh I thought that was a perfect ending to a why choose romance, short, sweet and didn’t leave Devon out. Everything wrapped in a pretty bow